Finally
by StarryRavenFire
Summary: ONESHOT. Two years have passed since Rukia last saw Ichigo. Now she's back in Karakura town without permission, hoping to see him one more time and find out if he feels the same way. Please read and review. [Complete]


23 August 2007

**A note from Starry: **Here is a short Ichigo and Rukia one shot I did. I hope you guys enjoy it! It is my first IchigoxRukia creation, so hopefully I got them in character!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach.

* * *

It had been far too long, Rukia thought, as she slowly walked through Karakura high school's empty hallways. The last time she'd been here was two years ago, before Orihime had gone to Hueco Mundo, before chaos erupted. Now, two years later, she was back, standing in the hallways of her first human school, waiting for six o' clock to happen so that the summer students could fill it up.

Sitting down at an empty desk by the window, the dark haired girl glanced out the window and noticed a few kids walking into the building. Finally, she thought, as she moved her gaze to the street. She couldn't wait any longer, but she had to! She wanted to surprise him, but at the same time not seem like she was doing this because it was her choice, but because she _had_ to. Even when truth was, that no one knew she was back here in Karakura Town.

The last time Rukia and Ichigo had seen each other, was at the end of the Winter War, after they had fought side by side. Ichigo had been badly injured and Inoue had done her part in healing him and Rukia had wanted to stay longer by his side but her older brother had said that they had to be returning to Soul Society. At first, Rukia had thought of asking him if she could stay for a while to see Ichigo wake up, but when she looked up at him, his expression kept her mouth shut. With a silent scream and a worried look, Rukia left an unconscious Ichigo behind.

She would have visited sooner, but the entering and leaving of Soul Society was monitored and she'd get in deep trouble if she were to step out. After the Winter War ended, Soul Society had decided it was best to hide the King's Key in a safer place, so they did a lockdown and only let out a limited number of Shinigamis out into the real world. Rukia wasn't one of them, and that had bothered the young Kuchiki very much.

Rukia had asked why she wasn't allowed to step into the real world and the answer was, "You were the reason these events started. It's best if we keep you away from Kurosaki Ichigo to prevent any other drastic things from happening. It will only be for a short time." Yeah, right! That short time expanded to two years! She'd finally managed to sneak out with the help of Captain Ukitake, but it was only for a little while. Only to see… "Ichigo!?"

Her thoughts were broken when she saw the ex-substitute Shinigami standing in front of her with a surprised look. When had he gotten here? How come she hadn't sensed his reiatsu?

"R-Ru-Rukia! Idiot, what are you doing here!? Isn't this a felony coming down here?" Ichigo's eyes were wide and he took a step forward, but stopped when he realized what he was about to do.

"Glad to see you too, baka," Rukia rolled her eyes, before a small smile appeared on her face. "No, I came here with Ukitake-taicho's permission…" She grinned before continuing, "Just his permission…"

Ichigo stared at the girl in front of him like she was crazy before glaring at her. "You're really stupid. If they find out you're here…" His expression changed into a concerned one, but only for a moment, because then it was back to the glare. "Well, it's not like I care what happens, but… well, you're an idiot!" Crossing his arms over his chest, Ichigo scowled, not meeting Rukia's eyes.

Rukia had felt the warm sensation she'd always felt when around him, get bigger when he'd looked worried but at his last sentence, a pang of sadness replaced it and she wondered if it had been a good idea to come here. She felt a bit speechless and didn't know what to say without saying, 'Idiot! I came here for you! I did this for you! I couldn't stand not seeing you anymore! I wanted to know… if you felt like that too… boke!' Biting her tongue, Rukia averted her gaze to the side and managed a scowl as well. "Fine then, I'll just go back this instant." She got up from her desk and was about to turn, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Don't…" it was a whisper. "Don't go…"

Glancing at Ichigo, Rukia noticed the orange haired boy was looking out the window with a scowl on his face, but this scowl was a bit different than the other one. This one was much… softer? A smile tugged at Rukia's lips, but she resisted the urge to smile at him. Instead a simple, "Why?" came out of her lips.

Ichigo turned to look at her, his eyes showing that he was cornered. Pulling his hand back to his side, Ichigo glared at Rukia for a brief moment before it softened. "Because…" If you looked closely, you could see how the rosy hue was slowly filling up his cheeks "Because I… dontwantyoutogoback.Imissedyouidiot." After saying that, his face seemed to change color, but Rukia couldn't really see because he turned his back towards her and she was left standing there, staring at his back.

She felt as the warmness spread throughout all of her and then noticed that she was slowly walking towards him. Her mind was telling her to stop, but her body didn't seem to listen… looking down at her arms, she saw them going up and… Was she going to hug him!?

What seemed to take forever actually happened in a few seconds. Rukia wrapped her arms Ichigo and rested her head on his back. Closing her eyes, she couldn't believe that she was finally doing it! She was finally hugging Ichigo… She'd wanted to do this for such a long time, but she'd always hold herself back. Today, though, today it seemed as though her heart was tired of being held back, because it did what it wanted. To touch Ichigo.

Ichigo stiffened when he felt Rukia's arms embrace him, but after a moment, reality hit him and he found himself leaning back against her hug. It was nice, he thought, as he slowly began to turn around to face her.

He's turning around! Rukia couldn't seem to move away, she was rooted to the floor! Her eyes went up to his face and when her gaze locked with his, her heart nearly stopped. "I-Ichigo…" she said, before breaking their eye bond and looking down at the floor.

What happened next took both Rukia and Ichigo WAY out of surprise. Ichigo had leaned down and had captured Rukia's lips with his in a soft and innocent kiss. Shocked, Rukia didn't know what to do but just close her eyes and wrap her arms around his neck. At this, Ichigo found confidence and was able to pull her closer to him, to his heart. Everything was forgotten and it was just them, Ichigo and Rukia.

And that's how it happened, that's how Kuchiki Rukia and Kurosaki Ichigo were found, when six o' clock happened, holding each other in a tight embrace and a sweet kiss.


End file.
